Butter icing or butter cream?

[libbyssister]

I'm about to start on my son's birthday cake. His birthday is on Friday. Shall I make butter cream or butter icing for the filling? Is butter cream really nicer than butter icing? Does it keep ok? And it's got raw egg yolks in it? Is that ok for kids?

I use something like this:

250g butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
600g icing sugar
2 tablespoons milk

and have never had any complaints :)

It also freezes well if you make too much!

Wouldn't recommend raw eggs for children.

Thanks Mspontipine I will use that, sounds delish I thought raw eggs might be a bit dodgy...

What's the difference between butter cream and butter icing ?

Butter cream/butter icing - different names for the same thing. And it doesn't have raw eggs in it.

But I was given the Great British Bake Off book recently and in there are two recipes, one for butter icing, one for butter cream. The first is exactly as Mspontipine describes and the second has butter, raw egg yolk and icing sugar in it

Well that's what I thought mable, never heard of it having raw egg in

That sounds like a merengue buttercream. Those are nice, I like them, but a bit more elaborate than a normal one. And as you say, I probably wouldn't give it to small children, the elderly or the immunocompromised.

Wait, egg yolk? Sorry, skimread and assumed whites. Intrigued by this icing recipe you have now!

Its sounds like a recipe for Italian meringue butter icing, but Im pretty sure that uses egg whites.

What I would call buttercream is the French "crème au beurre", which is made with egg yolks that are cooked with a sugar syrup (can't remember which stage). Butter and flavourings are then added.
Mspontipine has given you the recipe for buttercream icing.

hi i have just joined the site, and the only reason i found it was because i was asking the same question, whats the difference between the icing?
i also have the new bake - off book and was confused which icing to use.
the recipe for butter icing does use egg yolks but you have to cook it with a sugar syrup.
so ive decided to stay clear of that one lol